Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, the vice-captains of India, were nominated for the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for September 2022 on Wednesday. To make it an all-Asian event, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana has also been nominated in addition to the two.
Harmanpreet was in imperious form during the subsequent ODI series, which followed, to win Player of the Series as the highest run-getter with 221 runs at an average of 221 and a strike rate of 103.27. This was despite not getting the runs or desired results in the T20I series in England at the beginning of the month.
She amassed 221 runs over the course of the three games, guiding her team to victory in the first game with a composed 74 not out. In the second game, she clinched the series for her team in spectacular fashion, scoring an unbeaten 143, which is also her second-best ODI knock, to secure a historic first ODI series victory for her side in England since 1999 and a 3-0 series victory at Lord's.
Similar to Harmanpreet, Smriti—one of India's top batting options and the 2017 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy winner for ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year—performed admirably during her time in England in September.
She scored frequently in both white-ball series, with the second T20I's undefeated 79 off 53 balls being a standout. Her 111 runs at an average of 55.50 and 137.03 strike rate put her the best run scorer for India in the T20I series. She also hit a superb 91 runs in the opening ODI at Hove, both of which were game-winning contributions.
She obtained a patient fifty to conclude the month averaging over 50 in both forms at Lord's, while India only scored 169 in the final match, highlighting the magnitude of her achievements in September.
Nigar, on the other hand, took the lead while her team successfully qualified for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in the UAE, scoring 180 runs at an average of 45 in five T20 Internationals.
The Bangladesh captain opened her account with a crucial score of 67 in her side's first outing - a victory over eventual finalists Ireland, before registering an unbeaten 56 against the USA en route to clinching a spot in South Africa both as a leader and batter.
In being nominated for the award, Sultana becomes the first female Bangladesh international to be shortlisted since Nahida Akter back in November 2021.